A California man was sentenced to 24 years and four months in prison for operating multiple dark web sites dedicated to sharing child sexual abuse images, officials stated.
Louis Donald Mendonsa, 62, of Sacramento, helped manage and maintain four dark web sites from at least December 2021 until his arrest in November 2022, according to court records. These sites were used to advertise, distribute, and exchange images and videos of child sexual abuse, including material featuring infants and toddlers.
Officials stated that Mendonsa accessed the sites using public Wi-Fi at a coffee shop, where he also distributed illegal content and assisted others in running the platforms. A search of his electronic devices uncovered images of child sexual abuse, including approximately 6,500 files depicting identified victims.
Mendonsa pleaded guilty in April 2024 to seven counts of distributing child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section Trial Attorney Kaylynn Foulon and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Sauvageau and Christina McCall for the Eastern District of California prosecuted the case.